Eye For An Eye 2
by CaptainS10
Summary: After the events of EFAE, Artemis is resting, still trying to heal up from being almost fatally wounded, and Holly is back hard at work. When a new enemy rises, nearly killing Root and abducting Holly's father, and the LEP refuse to help, she realizes there's only one place left to turn. But it seems she'll have to save him from his own issues first... A/H.
1. Chapter 1

**So... hi.**

 **I'm not dead, or disappeared again, I swear. I've just had a lot going on, and simultaneously been trying to catch up my AO3 account to my FF one, which is hard to do while posting at the same time, and since I've had so little time to write, updating here kind of fell on the** **back burner** **. Sorry.**

 **While I can't promise I won't get busy again, I can say I'm working on stuff, so I shouldn't fall completely off the face of the Earth. Doing my best here, I swear. (And yes, I'm as disappointed at myself as the rest of you with the fact that I managed to disappear just when we were starting to get a little traffic back. My bad.)**

 **As for this story in particular, I have no excuse for why it took so long. I have the first few chapters in storage, and then I started working on bigger things (UD, LBNF, etc) and I honestly just kind of fell out of love with writing it. But, I'm going to try to pick it up again, so we'll see where it goes! Sorry for the long wait, but here it is, so enjoy!**

1.

Pain was the first thing he felt when he woke up.

Artemis Fowl Junior opened his eyes and groaned a little. The pain had dimmed - he never felt it as much now as he had in the beginning - but it was still there. The fire had been doused, but it wasn't out.

It had been a little over two weeks since he had discovered the People and kidnapped one by the name of Holly Short to bring her here to use as a trade for his father, who, at the time, had been in the People's grasp. He had tortured her for information, only to find out she didn't have any and it had been for nothing. When she'd eventually cracked, so had he at the sight, and they ended up having a small love tryst that hadn't ended a well as he'd hoped.

In fact, if he was right, it had ended in near disaster. When the time for the trade had come, it happened, and in the beginning it went smoothly. But Artemis had made it a point to pull Holly aside and kiss her goodbye, which he was almost certain had ended up in somebody being ticked off and shooting him. He still wasn't sure who'd shot him or why they'd waited so long to do it, but somebody had, and they didn't miss.

Whoever had fired the blaster had spot-on aim. The huge, hot blast it released had crashed hard into his chest, penetrating through his clothes and skin and searing into his heart. It had left a gaping hole, and Artemis had quickly started to die. He would have, if it hadn't been for Holly. She had run over and started pumping the rest of the magic from her system, which he assumed she'd probably that been saving, into the hole in his chest. She had been pulled off, but it was the little bit of magic she had managed to get into him that had saved his life.

Now she was gone - they all were. He was recuperating as he normally would have to, like a mundane, just letting time and rest seal up the hole in his chest. The two weeks had done him good - his body had healed, quite a bit, and though he still had bandages taped around his chest, he could almost sit up comfortably and he didn't get dizzy or feel thunderbolts of pain anymore when he moved. It was just the general area that was painful, and he avoided moving too much anyway, afraid he might rip it open again or something similar.

Wincing, he slowly pushed himself up into a half-sitting position, propped against his pillows. A soft, half-moan escaped him as he sat up, but he ignored the pain. He could hear footsteps coming up the hallway, and he didn't want to be lying down when they got here, didn't want to have to ask for help to sit up. He wanted to be already up.

The door opened a few seconds later to reveal his bodyguard standing in the doorway, a tray balanced on one hand. He slipped in and shut the door, smiling down at his charge. Artemis smiled weakly back as he placed the tray on his lap, then pulled up a chair beside him. "Do you feel any better?" rumbled the giant.

"Plenty," Artemis lied. He felt guilty for not telling the truth, but he hated his vulnerability and he was determined to show it as little as possible. Besides, it wasn't strictly a complete lie - he did feel better than he had not-so-long ago, and Butler hadn't specified exactly how much better he felt from one day, or whether it was a mental or physical healing he was asking of. "Maybe I'll be completely well again someday soon."

"Soon," Butler agreed, "But still not soon enough. Just eat and get some rest, Artemis. Your parents will be back any day now, and I'm sure the better you're feeling, the happier they'll be."

He was referring to the fact that, earlier in the week, his parents had left together on one of his father's so called "business trips". He had assured his son it had nothing to do with the People, and both him and his wife that it was completely legal. Artemis wasn't really sure if he believed him now, but he supposed he'd find out on their return.

Although the Fowls weren't eager to leave their injured son behind, they knew better than to believe that he could go with them, or that he would want to even if he could. However, Artemis Senior had jumped right back into business on his return, and he was determined that this business venture could not wait. So, after a heated debate and getting consent from his eldest son, he agreed to leave him behind, on the condition that Butler and Juliet both stay with him instead of splitting for one to stay and one to travel with them. Seeing as how their venture was supposed to be completely legal, Artemis Senior didn't see it fit to take him with them, and he doubted they would be needed, so he ordered them both to stay and see to it that Artemis was properly taken care of and healing well. Reluctantly, the siblings had agreed, and now here they all were.

Artemis sighed, but nodded. "Yes, I'm sure you're right. Thank you for bringing me my food, Butler."

"Of course, sir." The bodyguard forced a smile and patted the sixteen year old's hand. "Just doing my job." He stood up. "Ring when you need me, if you do before I return," he said, and then left.

The boy frowned and inhaled deeply, looking down at his food. It smelled appetizing, certainly, and he knew Butler was a renowned cook, but he wasn't sure he wanted to eat. He started picking away a little at the sandwich on the side of the plate, but he couldn't make himself eat much. Eventually he set the tray to the side and laid back down to go back to sleep. He would need the rest.


	2. Chapter 2

2.

"Holly!"

The elf jumped guiltily. "What?" she demanded. "I-I was listening…."

Trouble Kelp gave her a suspicious look that seemed to say he knew she wasn't. "No, Holly, I don't think you were. But since you were, why don't you tell me what I just said, seeing as how _it was important_."

Holly flushed red and lowered her eyes down to the table again. They were both on lunch break from the LEP and had decided to go out together to get something, but Holly couldn't seem to keep her brain focused long enough to enjoy the quality time with her friend. That seemed to be a problem a lot lately. "I… I'm sorry, Trouble. I don't know. What were you telling me?"

Kelp sighed and shook his head reproachfully. "Holly, honestly. Are you alright?"

The female shrugged a little, picking up her fork and spearing a piece of her salad. She held it up in front of her face as if examining it, but didn't make a move to actually eat it. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Why do I _ask_?" he repeated, looking incredulous. "Holly, have you seen yourself lately? Ever since what went down with the Mud Boy, you've been different. You're barely eating, barely talking, and you don't do anything outside of work. You're functioning, but you're not living." He reached across the table and put his hand on hers. "What happened to you?"

Giving up on the food, Holly sighed, dropped her fork back in the bowl, and pushed it away from her. She laid her head down on the table, pulling her hand from his and pillowing it on her arms. "I love you, Trouble, you know that, and I'm not saying it to be mean, but you wouldn't understand."

"I wouldn't?"

"No."

"And how do you figure that?"

She lifted her head so she was facing him, but still rested her chin on her hands. "You weren't there, Trouble. Maybe you were at the switch, sure, but that wasn't the whole of the problem. You don't know.." She shook her head, her eyes falling closed. "You don't know what it was like there, what _he_ was like. Artemis isn't a monster."

Trouble's tone softened, but she could heat the tense undertone to it nonetheless. "Holly, he tortured you."

"Everyone says that!" Holly burst out, sounding exasperated. She sat up straight and glared at him. "He tortured me, yeah. But he made it up to me, and he had good reasons. Tell me that the LEP wouldn't have done the same thing to his father if he hadn't been so cooperative. I wasn't cooperating. It might not be something anyone _deserves_ , really, but I knew it would be coming to me if I didn't listen to him. I made my own choices, Trouble. It wasn't all Artemis's fault. And... And he didn't deserve what they did to him." Blinking away tears, she closed her eyes again and laid her head back down.

"Holly..." Trouble sounded uncertain now. "I'm sorry."

"You don't need to be. Just don't lecture me about him. I can't take it anymore. I already miss him, and I feel so bad about what happened, and I don't even know if he survived..." She trailed off as her eyes widened to the size of saucers. There was barely concealed panic hidden in the depth of them when he met her gaze. "Frond, Trouble, what if he didn't survive?"

The male elf shook his head, reaching across the table to put a hand on his best friend's arm again. "To be honest, Holly... I'm almost certain that he did."

"I think he did," she admitted. "I think I got enough magic into him, but… Dad pulled me away… I never got to _see_..." Her eyes fell closed again, and she sniffled and shook her head. It took a moment, but then she gathered herself and stood up, sighing. "We should get back to the office. Root will be waiting."

Trouble nodded, standing as well. He picked up her salad and held it out to her wordlessly.

Holly shook her head. "I don't want it. Throw it away."

"You may want it later, Holly. You should take it."

She glared at him for half a second, then threw her hands up in the air, frowning. "Fine! I'll take the stupid thing with me. I'll just give it to your brother or something." She snatched it from his hand.

Trouble chuckled a little. "You know as well as I do he won't eat it. He hates it."

Turning her back away, she smiled, then grabbed her jacket off the back of the chair and headed for the door. "I know," Holly replied. She winked at him over her shoulder and smiled a little wider, then turned and left the cafe.

oOoOoOoOoOo

She walked back to the Plaza on her own, slowly, using the last bit of time that she had and savoring it. Lost in thought, she found herself walking up the steps to the Plaza almost in a trance, thinking, _reliving_ the last kiss she'd shared with Artemis. She could almost feel it...

She reached up and brushed her fingers across her lips, almost expecting them to feel swollen from his assault on her mouth. Yet, even as she moved, she knew it wasn't possible, and it was only proven when she felt for it and it wasn't there.

Sighing, she dropped her hand, then rounded the corner... and walked right into her father.

They both stopped dead when they came face to face. Barely a few feet apart, she stared at him as the hand he'd automatically reached out to steady her with froze and slowly dropped.

"Holly." He sounded surprised. "I was just on my way to get you... Root said you were on lunch break with Trouble."

She frowned. "Yeah, kinda," muttered Holly. "I wasn't gone that long, though. What's so important that you were chasing me down?"

She hadn't meant for her voice to come out so hostile, but of course it had. Since the kidnapping, relations between Holly and her father had been strained, to put it mildly. The part where he had pulled her off Artemis had only made her more irritated. She knew he wasn't too happy over that part either, but there was nothing either of them could do about that. And even though they tried to put it behind them, things were still rough at home.

Christopher frowned at the harsh tone of her voice, but wisely decided this wasn't the time to comment on it. "I have a going away mission I've just been assigned to," he informed her, his tone purposely deadpan. "I'll be gone for a few days at least. I wanted to let you know."

Immediately, Holly felt guilty. Here she was, being scornful in her father's face, right before he had to leave. She always hated these kinds of missions. There was always a chance one of them could be hurt, but those kinds that dragged on for days were the worst to endure. The risk was higher then, and even as angry as she was with him, Holly didn't really want to let him go off and get himself killed. She couldn't afford to lose him.

"Oh," was all she managed to say. "When are you leaving?"

He seemed to detect how she was feeling. When he spoke again, his face and tone had both softened. "Three days from now," he told Holly, placing a hand on her shoulder, gently but firmly. "This is a big mission, Holly. You know all the trouble we've been having with Koboi." At the mention of the name, Holly frowned but nodded. He continued. "She's planning something big, but we think we have a chance to stop it. We need time to prepare. But even with two days preparation, it'll still be risky. That's why I wanted to warn you in advance."

She swallowed down the rising emotions in her chest, acting like the lump in her throat was no big deal. She nodded again, blinking rapidly and dropping her eyes. "Yeah… Yeah. Thanks."

Ridiculously, she felt tears well in her eyes, then pushed them down. What the _hell_ was wrong with her? She couldn't cry now.

Quickly, she excused herself and scurried away, ignoring her father calling after her. She speed-walked the whole way back to her office, then quickly pulled the door shut and locked it.

Her back hit the door, and she slid down it, emotions suddenly overcoming her in a rush. Everything she'd pushed off for the past three weeks hit her hard, then and there, and suddenly, inexplicably, there were tears sliding down her face, and she bit her arm hard to muffle a scream that escaped her throat.

She couldn't say how long she stayed there, allowing the sobs to tear out of her chest but restricting the noise of the sounds by burying her teeth in her arm. She cried for everything that had been eating at her: Artemis's shooting, her mixed emotions toward her father, her conflicting feelings on both... When she finally felt well enough to stop, a huge weight was gone from her chest - and she only had twenty minutes left on her shift.

Instead of using the last of her time to do actual work, she went in the bathroom and worked to fix her appearance, trying to rid her eyes of the red and puffy look they had taken on from her crying. But Holly was no expert on beauty, and she didn't have anything to use to touch up her face anyways. She didn't carry any make up - hell, she didn't even have a purse.

Studying her face another second - her too large, now swollen eyes, nut brown skin, and sunken cheeks - then decided this was one fight she wouldn't win. Instead of worrying about her appearance any longer, she splashed cold water on her face a few times, then dried it herself and headed for the door.

She made it across the room and was reaching for the knob when the door opened on it's own from the outside. Surprised, she turned her eyes up to meet the light gaze of Lili Frond. The elf looked down at her with a look of wide-eyed surprise, then grinned, actually looking happy to see the other girl. She flipped one of her blond tresses over her shoulder with a delicate, manicured hand and giggled. "Oh, gosh, Holly! I'm sorry. I didn't expect you to be in here."

Holly shook her head at her, holding back from allowing herself to sigh heavily. She didn't hate Lili, but she also didn't particularly like her; she was a bimbo and an airhead, and she promoted the sexist idea that girls were all airheads - blondes especially - and didn't belong in a hard-working police force. Holly suspected - although she couldn't strictly prove it - that she had only made it through the Academy by… well, that she hadn't made it through legitimately, to say the least.

"It's fine, Lili," said Holly, sidestepping the other girl. Now she definitely was ready to leave, puffy eyes or no - she was not in the mood to deal with the dumb bimbo right now. "I was just leaving anyway."

Unfortunately, Lili had no way of knowing that. She was a bubbly person by nature, and was entirely too willing to stand and talk to Holly. "Oh, it's okay," she said brightly. She looked at Holly's face and tsked, suddenly looking more serious. "Hey, why are your eyes all puffy?"

"It's none of your business," Holly growled. She tried to push Lili out of the way and leave, but she couldn't get past her.

"Ooh, touchy. Sorry." Lili sighed and put her hands on her hips. "Look, I won't ask why if you don't want me to, but at least let me fix them. You don't want to go out in public looking like that."

Holly gritted her teeth and spit out, "I've already been out in public like that, and I'll do it again. Now my shift is over and I really need to-"

"Come on, Holly!" Lili whined. "It will just take a minute, swear!"

Holly was so irritated at this point her toes were curling in her boots. Nevertheless, this was obviously a losing fight, so she gritted her teeth and gave in. Hopefully, she'd get out quick this way. "Fine, Lili. But you have five minutes!"

"I only need two!"

Lili grabbed her arm and dragged her back over to the sinks, whipping a makeup kit out of her pocket - much to Holly's surprise - and flipping it open. "Close your eyes," she ordered Holly, pulling out a makeup brush and wielding it like a weapon.

Holly cringed a little at Lili's instructions, wondering exactly what she'd just gotten herself into. But she only resisted for a second before submitting and letting her eyes fall closed.

It seemed to go extremely fast, even for Holly. Most of the time Lili's hand was so light she didn't even feel the makeup as it was brushed on...which explains why she didn't realize Lili had done more than just fix her eyes.

"Done!" Lili announced, exactly two minutes later. She put her supplies back in the case and snapped it closed. "You can open your eyes," she added, when Holly didn't move.

Slowly, the elf opened her eyes. Lili was staring down at her, grinning.

"You look better," she assured Holly quickly, before the other girl could speak. "Much better."

"Thanks, Lili," Holly muttered. She half-debated looking in the mirror, but she could tell from the other girl's grin and suggestive words she had probably done more than just hide the redness of her eyes, and she quickly decided it wasn't worth it. She'd just leave, keep her head down, and get out of the Plaza as fast as possible. "Bye, Lili." She pushed past her and started towards the door.

"Hey, wait! Aren't you going to look at it?" Lili yelped, running after her, only to have the door slam in her face. Holly was already gone.


End file.
